2 Answers
2

It does require you to be online BECAUSE it is GPS bound AND the system needs to verify that you are actually near the portals you are working with - in real time.

For that it needs to read your GPS signal and transfer it to the game servers. Further, once you interact on the same portal as someone from the opposition in real time, the game needs to be aware of that. An offline mode would not allow this.

If an offline mode would be working, you would be able to cheat the game by just pretending to be in a certain location.

Sounds realistic yes. Damn, that means i can't play this game :-( Too bad they didnt think of pre-paid users.
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LadinekoMar 1 '13 at 7:39

3

@Ladineko I think the issue is that the game was meant for real-time real-world interaction - so by definition offline users are out of the equation.
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uncoveryMar 1 '13 at 7:45

Interaction is the key. "Offline mode" and "GPS required" however are not at all mutually exclusive, nor does the online requirement prevent cheating.
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Matthias UrlichsMar 1 '13 at 8:08

3

This answer is a little misleading. GPS bound does not preclude offline mode. Google Maps app works great in offline mode with the GPS. The issue is that when you interact with a portal you need to be able to communicate that information to the servers. If you don't have data you can't communicate.
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IanMar 1 '13 at 9:54

@Ian true. If you do not read the second line of the answer, the first line is misleading.
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uncoveryMar 1 '13 at 10:07